World"s first needle-free "vampire facelift" uses LASERS to push patient"s own blood in to the face – but would you pay 750?

World's first needle-free 'vampire facelift' uses LASERS to push patient's own blood in to the face – but would you pay 750Amie Mee, from Edinburgh, had the non-invasive procedure in GlasgowInvented and carried out by Dr Taimur Shoaib at his Belle Form clinicUpdated version of traditional 'vampire facelift' which involves injections

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UPDATED:

19:28 GMT, 26 October 2012

It promises to give you the smooth, wrinkle-free skin of Twilight vampire Bella Cullen … but without a single painful injection into the face.

Instead it uses a laser to make thousands of tiny holes in the face using the world's most powerful carbon dioxide laser, through which plasma from the patient's own blood is pushed using an ultrasound probe.

And Amie Mee, a 42-year-old beauty therapist from Edinburgh has become the world's first person to undergo the procedure – termed the needle-free 'vampire facelift' – in Glasgow.

Before and after: Amie Mee, 42, before the 'vampire facelift', left, and afterwards, right

The non-surgical operation was invented and carried out by Scottish plastic surgeon Dr Taimur Shoaib at his Belle Forme clinic.

The treatment is so-called because it uses the patient's own blood – taken from the arm – to make improvements to the skin. The plasma from the blood is then extracted and used in the non-invasive procedure, with the aim of rejuvenating the skin.

The technique is an updated version of the traditional 'vampire facelift', which involves a series of painful injections into the face.

Amie, who lives in Edinburgh, said: 'I'm very happy with it – it's a brilliant result and I would definitely recommend it. The procedure makes such a great improvement to your skin in terms of pigmentation, texture and in other ways.'

Taimur Shoaib creates thousands of perforations deep into the skin using the worlds most powerful CO2 laser on Amie Mee

She added: 'The laser part was a little uncomfortable but it was very quick, it only took a few minutes. Some people won't like the discomfort but it's worth it. After you've had a bit of downtime your skin just looks amazing.

'I decided to have the procedure done because I knew that it would be rejuvenating and I knew I would see results. It's actually a really good procedure to have because its all working in tune with the skin. I wanted my skin to be more youthful.'

Amie, who is originally from Leicester, said: 'Quite a few people have noticed a real difference. They think I look fresh or that I've been on holiday. It's a great treatment.'

Taimur Shoaib pushing the blood plasma into the prepared skin of Amie Mee, who has had thousands of tiny holes lasered into her face

Mr Shoaib, who lectures and trains other plastic surgeons all over the world on facial plastic surgery, said: 'The needle-free vampire facelift removes deep surface lines and wrinkles. It then keeps on working in various ways under the surface to enable the skin to produce collagen, its own youth serum.

'These non-invasive treatments are the future and as technology improves, so do the results. I wanted to get away from using artificial chemicals and by using a patient's own fat or blood plasma there won't be any adverse reactions and the results look and feel very natural.

'The results have been great so far and I'm delighted to have created a new procedure which will push the boundaries of non-invasive cosmetic treatments.'

Mr Shoaib's treatment, which costs around 750, offers a less painful alternative to the traditional needle-based procedure.